AlpacasOfMontana.com
We are an alpaca farm with 150 alpacas, depending on the day. We have 12 years of experience raising, selling and breeding alpacas. We create thousands of hand crafted alpaca products every year from local knitters, crocheters and weavers. We sell 20-30 alpacas yearly and compost alpaca manure into rich fertilizer. Alpacas of Montana is a fully vertically integrated alpaca farm and we love raising alpacas as a full time business.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Overall, alpacas are healthy creatures. Keep them safe, and many alpacas will never have to see a veterinarian. However, we have had the occasional dystocia, broken leg or some other issue that needed to be addressed. The difficult part about many alpaca vets is that they are few and far between. Not many vets have had the opportunity to work with camelids. Plus, many are scared of the market price - especially compared to a sheep - and would rather not take on the liability. We do try to reassure the vets we work with that we have confidence in their abilities and are willing to work with them. In order to help all of us, we have purchased several books for our vets, including the alpaca field manual and a surgical guide for camelids.

Talk to your veterinarian prior to purchasing or receiving your alpacas. Request an appointment and spend time discussing with the doctor your interest and plans.

Do not try to impress your vet with your knowledge. While most vets do not have the time to take a lot of classes specific to alpacas only, they are trained in the fundamentals of medicine and surgery that make it possible to work on alpacas. Most vets are willing to learn. Care of your herd should be shared knowledge and a shared learning experience.

Reasons to call you vet:

Prolonged (days) anorexia (inability or refusal to eat) or has rancid breath

Friday, January 4, 2013

There is some controversy among alpaca producers about the feeding of grain. Apparently there is some question regarding whether or not it can be digested by alpacas. Or maybe some see it as harmful. Either way, I will try to explain the place of grain in the alpaca diet.

First, it is important to clarify how grain is digested. Ninety-five percent of all soluble carbohydrates, such as grain, are fermented by microorganisms in the rumen. Only a very small percentage makes it to the small intestine to be digested by the alpaca's own enzymes. Rumen microorganisms ferment grain preferentially to roughage (hay) because it takes less work to break down.

Both the fermentation of grain and roughage yields volatile fatty acids (VFA), which are the predominate sources of energy used by alpacas. Grain yields more energy and faster than roughage. It is almost pure energy. The predominate microorganisms in the rumen will change depending on whether roughage or grain predominates in the diet.

Do/did wild alpacas eat grain? Probably not, or not very often. Would they have eaten it if they had come across it? Definitely. Do/did wild alpacas lose weight during lactation? Yes.

Wild animals normally go through cycles of feast and famine. The mammalian body actually becomes more efficient after a fast. This fact is exploited by cattleman. It also makes it more difficult for humans to lose weight by repeated fasting, and makes weight gain inevitable.

The primary feedstuff in the alpaca diet should be roughage, mainly hays like Orchard grass and Coastal Bermuda grass. Alfalfa should be reserved for lactating females and those which need to gain weight after lactation.

Bagged supplements often contain grain along with vitamins and minerals. To maintain alpacas at a healthy weight and not over-mineralize, it is better to feed grain, as needed, and provide a separate mineral free-choice. The habitual feeding of supplement that contains grain and minerals has led to the current alpaca obesity problem.

A good grain/protein combination such as corn/soybean meal/flax seed, or corn/soybean meal/alfalfa meal, can be fed to gestating females who need to gain weight as well as those which are lactating. Grain/protein mixtures can be custom-made at feed mills.

Alpacas that are overfed have poorer quality fiber, in addition to a greater potential for reproductive and lactation problems.

If possible:

Feed a grain/protein mixture that does not also contain vitamins and mineral

Separate animals by condition, and feed a grain/protein mixture to those under a body score of 5 and to lactating mother